The Whipping Maid of House Calley - Chapter 141

“There’s been a mistake! I’ll go with you and give a statement.”

Rufus strongly protested to the officer. As the officer was about to snap at him, Cedric stepped in and spoke as if to calm him.

“Enough, Rufus. I have confessed to all the charges and submitted the evidence. Everything was done by me alone, so there’s no need for you to get involved.”

Because Cedric deliberately emphasized that it was a ‘solo crime,’ Rufus could no longer speak. If Rufus were taken in as an accomplice here, there would be no way left to help Cedric.

“I have already taken care of everything you need to do. It’s in the desk drawer, so carry it out as written.”

At the words that he had even arranged everything in advance, as if he had expected to be taken away, Rufus found himself even more at a loss for words.

Meanwhile, Cedric, who had been looking toward the attic, caught sight of Sheila stepping outside.

“Rufus. First, clear out the servants.”

After quietly giving the order, Cedric’s gaze shifted to the oldest officer.

“One moment.”

After briefly asking for permission, Cedric stepped toward Sheila.

At his calm and composed attitude, the senior officer failed to stop him in time.

As Rufus began clearing out the servants, the officers finally moved to help him, sending the servants down to the lower floor.

Throughout the time Cedric walked toward Sheila, their gazes remained fixed on each other. As if time had stopped, the air surrounding them flowed slowly.

By the time he stood right in front of her, Cedric spoke first.

“It looks like we won’t be able to be together starting today. Go on walks with Molly like before. Don’t skip them, alright?”

Sheila slowly shook her head.

Her throat tightened, and she couldn’t say a single word.

Cedric lifted her chin as she shook her head and met her eyes.

“Stop. Sheila. There’s something I need to say for the last time.”

At the word last, Sheila glared at him with tear-filled eyes.

She resented the man who had barged into her life as he pleased and was now talking about an ending just as he pleased.

“I’ve wronged you far too many times. So many that I can’t even list them all.”

No… please don’t.

Sheila didn’t want to hear anything.

If he said this, it would really feel like the end…. She had only just managed to stand again, and she was afraid he might let go of her hand like this. If she collapsed here, it felt like she would never be able to stand again.

“I’m truly sorry for everything.”

At the apology that came from his mouth, Sheila felt her heart break.

This wasn’t the first time she had heard his apology. He had repeated those words again and again in front of her while pretending she was asleep.

Now, she no longer thought his apology was a lie.

At his sincere apology, her throat tightened.

Sheila kept shaking her head. She needed to say it wasn’t so, but no words would come out.

Just like when she had gone to find her sister too late, it felt like she had realized his sincerity too late as well.

Why was she always so measured, yet always late when it mattered most?

Regret and self-reproach filled Sheila’s heart. Just like when she had lost her sister helplessly, a sense of powerlessness rose within her.

“I’ve put everything in writing and left it with Rufus, so follow what he says. No matter what anyone says, don’t pay it any mind. It’s all my fault, not yours.”

At Cedric’s words, Sheila felt her heart drop once more with a heavy thud.

“That’s enough. It’s not your fault.”

It overlapped perfectly with a voice she had heard sometime in the past.

The one who said those words back then wasn’t Alfonso, but Cedric.

Before, she used to confuse the two of their voices, but now she could clearly tell them apart.

To Sheila, who stood frozen and unable to move, Cedric continued, “I know it’s too late, but I’m sorry.”

Another apology.

She should’ve told him it was okay long ago.

All she’d done was cling to twisted thoughts, wondering if she was supposed to forgive him just because he said he was sorry, and she’d never once told him it was alright.

Now she knew his words were sincere, but her body was rigid and she couldn’t react at all.

When she saw the officers lined up to take him away, another wave of despair swept through her.

No matter what, she really had no luck.

Why did it have to be now? Anger and resentment toward her own fate surged up inside her.

Misreading her expression, Cedric gave an awkward smile and said, “I didn’t say it expecting forgiveness.”

“I didn’t say it to hear an apology.”

As his voice overlapped once again with a memory from the past, Sheila’s heart pounded violently.

“It’s fine if you don’t forgive me. I’ll accept whatever punishment comes. The days will get shorter, so be careful going out for walks late.”

“You should also be careful about going around late at night.”

Every time he spoke, Sheila’s heart thrashed wildly.

She needed to say something, anything, but her mouth, which had lost its ability to speak, wouldn’t produce a single sound.

Through the tears welling in her eyes, his face looked distorted.

‘Why does your face still look like that?’

Seeing his face properly for the first time in a while, it was still far too gaunt. Just like when she saw him again in Wellingford….

Sheila slowly raised her hand. Just as she was about to brush his face with the back of her hand, an officer grabbed Cedric’s shoulder from behind.

When Cedric turned, the officer gestured that it was time to go.

Cedric gave a slight nod, then looked back at Sheila.

“Take care of yourself.”

Leaving behind that final farewell with a faint smile, he turned away.

Without giving Sheila any chance to speak, he said what he needed to say and walked away.

‘Seriously… so infuriating….’

Tears spilled from Sheila’s eyes as she failed to say anything until the very end.

***

That day was when ten-year-old Judith threw a tantrum and grabbed at the maids assigned to her.

After Judith caused a ruckus to her heart’s content and finally fell asleep for a nap, the senior maid Ebony and Sheila carefully slipped out of the room.

“Ha! That little brat! I really can’t take it anymore. One of these days, I’m not letting her get away with it!”

Ebony ground her teeth as she glared at Judith’s room. She sometimes called Judith, who spoke harshly and acted however she pleased, ‘that brat.’

“Please endure it, sister.”

Somehow, Sheila, who had ended up in the same situation, found herself calming Ebony down.

“You can endure that?”

“I have to. What else can I do?” Sheila said.

Even if they were treated terribly by the young lady they served, there wasn’t much a maid could do.

Ebony grew even more irritated at the completely unhelpful words.

“Ah! I don’t know! I’m quitting within three months. You should hurry up and get married too. How long are you going to keep doing this?”

Ebony, who seemed to be seeing a man these days, kept saying she would quit soon whenever she had the chance.

“At the very least, I plan to endure five or six years in this estate,” Sheila replied to Ebony.

It was not long after she learned of her sister’s death and had gone to the guild to commission a ‘job.’

Suddenly overwhelmed by thoughts of her sister, Sheila failed to notice that Young Master Cedric, who used the same floor, was passing by.

“Yeah, yeah. You’re so tough, I’m sure you will.”

Still angry, Ebony spoke sarcastically to Sheila, also failing to notice the eldest young master’s presence.

Recently, Ebony had been making snide remarks at Sheila more often. She’d grown dissatisfied with Sheila, who kept the lights on and worked late into the night.

“Later, you’re the one who’s putting that brat to sleep. You stay up late anyway, so it’s fine, right?”

“Yes, sister. I will.”

A forced smile spread across Sheila’s face.

Sheila hadn’t told anyone about her sister’s death.

At first, it was because she didn’t want to accept it. And after she commissioned her brother’s assassination, she kept her mouth shut on purpose.

‘Either way, it’s true I’m causing trouble by working.’

Thinking that, Sheila, exhausted to the limit, ended up putting Judith to bed alone that day.

Judith, who had slept for a long time during her nap, tormented Sheila well past midnight.

By the time she finally got her to sleep and came out, the mansion was quiet.

It was a time when everyone was asleep. Sheila quietly went down the stairs.

She was about to head to the maids’ quarters when whispering voices of a man and a woman came from the darkness.

“You can’t do this here.”

“What’s the problem?”

“If we get caught like this, we’ll be fired.”

“Hah… Ebony. Who’s the butler here? Me. Me, Bobby is the butler of this whole mansion.”

At the name Ebony, Sheila stopped in her tracks. Then, at the suggestive sounds that followed, her body stiffened like stone.

“W-wait…, ah!”

“Damn, it goes right in.”

Even though she was technically an adult, Sheila had no experience with relationships.

On top of that, she’d only ever heard dirty talk at night. This was the first time she was hearing the actual sounds of it happening.

‘What should I do?’

Faced with the situation for the first time, her exhausted mind couldn’t come up with any way to respond and gradually went blank.

Meanwhile, the wet, obscene sounds echoed.

“Hoo… look at the size of these bosoms on this bitch.”

“Ah…, don’t, ngh! Let’s go outside…, ngh! Let’s do it outside.”

“Like this, heh, doing it standing is better. If we do it in the bushes, we’ll get bitten by bugs. Are you acting all coy because you got caught by another maid last time? Haah… don’t worry. Firing one maid is nothing. Someone saw us? The one getting fired won’t be us. It’ll be her.”

Fired…?

Fear crept into Sheila’s heart as she unintentionally witnessed something she shouldn’t have.